A few of my favourite things

A few of my favourite things. 

Clock - gift from Danae and Devon one Christmas a few years back - this may have been the start of my clock obsession. 

Flowers - I love, love, love flowers in my house. They make me happy. 

Silver flower dish - there's probably some other proper name for it but I love this. It was my dad's mom's and I remember as a child being mesmerised by the steel grate that covers the bowl that the flowers go into. So cool. I am very thankful I inherited this little treasure.

Doily - I have many doilies - some my dad's mom crocheted and the others who knows where they're from - but to me they represent a little piece of my German Mennonite heritage and nostalgia. 

Buffet - I bought this off trademe for $80. I like to think it's a valuable kauri wood antique but who knows - probably not. However I love it and daily contemplate whether I should ship it back to Canada.  

Sunshine - I love how sunlight adds unexpected highlights to a photo. 

And don't they all look lovely together? 

Summer survival

This has been such a hot January. I even heard that most stores in Auckland are sold out of fans. I'm thankful for a fan, a window and a breeze. I'm also hoping 8 months of summer will actually be a good thing. Eek 

Be creative!

On Friday I was creative. I love being creative and making things. I've discovered chalk paint which may become my new passion. So much fun!!

Colleagues

Today and yesterday were Teacher Only Days. Lots of talking, planning and getting ready for the school year. We ended the two days with a lovely afternoon at the beach. During the nine years we've lived here I've spent the majority of my time with these people, working together and learning so much from them about New Zealand and teaching. I'm really going to miss them. 

Screenshot

So I looked on my photo roll today and this is my only picture there from today. It's a screenshot of one of my favourite artists, Romero Britto, whom I follow on Instagram. His pictures make me happy so sometimes I screenshot them to have them on my phone in the hopes that maybe someday I'll try to recreate one in a painting. 

Good morning!

Good morning from Howick Beach.

Today was the only day I went into school this whole summer. I usually spend a lot of time there during the summer getting my classroom ready. This year I am not starting with a class as I will only be teaching one term so I'll have different responsibilities at school. I have mixed emotions about this but mostly I'm relieved because I have far too much other stuff on my mind with moving. 

So I stopped at the beach on my way to school. It was wonderful! 

So hot

The best place to stay cool on a hot summer's day. The beach. In the shade. 

Endings and Beginnings

"The key to new beginnings is a good ending.  How you choose your ending is critical to how you start your new beginning."

Tonight I attended a local church, Cession Community, after I saw on Facebook that they were starting a new series entitled 'Endings and Beginnings'. I thought it was timely so I plan on attending to get some insight and ideas as we end this chapter and look forward to beginning a new one. 

Only in New Zealand

Why did the peacock cross the road? 

Howick Beach

Howick beach. Five minutes from our place. Going to miss this beauty. 

Oops!!! 2 days in 1

Oh dear. Guess I'm not quite in the habit of my photo a day yet. Just realised I've missed a couple of days now.  Let's see what's on my camera roll that represented each of those last two days.

Wednesday 

I had two house cleaners working inside, one friend cleaning the outside windows and myself staging the house for photos in preparation for Thursday's photo shoot. It was a busy day and I am so happy with how everything looked!

Thursday

Photo shoot day. So much work to get to this day but it was worth it. When the photos were done we went for a picnic to the beach with the kids. Perfect way to celebrate. I'm going to miss hanging out with these amazing young people!

So this happened today

7 years ago, for my 45th birthday, I got a tattoo on my ankle. I love my tattoo and what it signifies to me, but it did turn out a bit dark and chunky. Last week Kenz got tattooed by this lovely young lady and so I asked her if there was anything she could do to tidy it up and make my tattoo prettier..... So she did and I love it!

I forgot a day!!

I was just too busy finishing two more rooms!

Disneyland

I didn't take this pic but it's the most exciting picture for today. Paige and Alex on their second last day in Disneyland. She said they walked 31000 steps today!! Good thing they have a long flight to recuperate on!  I'm so happy for them for the super fun end to their belated honeymoon!!

Downtown

Went downtown Auckland today for a quick appointment. It's such a beautiful city. I'm going to miss it and how you can  find amazing things around each corner. 

MacKenzie's new home

Today I went with MacKenzie to view her new flat. When we move she will have to move too. As she still has 1.5 years of uni left she needed to find a place to live. Us leaving her behind has been my greatest concern about our move, but God has given us such peace about the whole thing that we can rest knowing He has it all under control!  So today viewing the house she'll be living in and meeting her flatmates was excellent. She's going to have a wonderful experience!! 

Following our time at the house we went exploring for things she needs for her new room. It was so fun to see what we can find to make her room a comfy new home for her. 

Classic TV!

MacKenzie and I watched the final episode of Downton Abbey tonight. Such a wonderful series!! A true classic for this decade. Thanks for the excellent entertainment (and memorable opening them music)

My day in the garage

My day:

Packing, sorting, cleaning the garage before the house goes up for sale. 

Enjoying my new colour and cut from yesterday's visit to Barbara by taking selfies and snap chatting them to my kids. 

Discovering old photos in the garage and being distracted by memories. 

Thoroughly enjoying being interrupted in my task by receiving Paige's snapchats of her day in Disneyland. 

Btw.... This is where the date on the blog will go wonky because I'm leaving it on Canadian date/time as my year will end where it started - in Canada - so I don't want to change the blog settings to mess it up more. 😜 so, sometimes the date and time won't make any sense. 

Travel weary

Screenshot of snapchat to my family. 

Home, sweet home. 

Pondering life

I saw this quote on line a few months ago and have spent a lot of time pondering it. Now as I've just spent four weeks back in Canada knowing that we are moving back after nine years overseas, I am beginning to understand this quote. It makes a lot of sense, especially the last line.  More to come on this over the next months. 

View of the winter prairies leaving Calgary. 

View of the Rockies flying into Vancouver. 

I never tire of looking out the window of an airplane. Probably the reason I'm willing to sacrifice easy access to a toilet on a loooong flight...... just to have a bird's eye view of the world. 

OE

Facebook memory photo from today: 

Nine years ago today our family boarded a plane amidst tears, excitement and trepidation, to begin our family OE.  Before leaving Canada I'd never heard of an OE, as it's not an expression Canadians use.  But OE it certainly has been.  Our Oversees Experience.

We had no idea when we went how long we'd be going for. Paige and Danae only had two years of high school left and part of me thought that they would return to Canada for university or to work after high school, but they stayed. 

In 2011 Kevin and I returned to Canada (his only trip back in the nine years we've been in NZ) to pack and sort through our belongings in order to ship them all to NZ in anticipation of a permanent stay.  We bought a house. We live in the present with an eye to the future, but we didn't  close doors on what God may have for us. 

And so, after nine years, we find ourselves nearing the end of our OE and don't regret a bit of it. We wanted to show our girls that the world was a bigger place and we did. The world is theirs to explore! And now it's time for Kevin and I to begin the journey back to our roots. 

But then again, who knows where we may be nine years from now!

Packed and ready to fly back to Auckland tomorrow. 

A few of my favourite things....

Banff. 

One of my favourite places in the world with two of my favourite people. 

Alex and Paige. 

Helpless

Today while I happily watched a movie in a theatre in Calgary with my cousin, MacKenzie was under extreme duress having her two bottom wisdom teeth surgically removed.  I knew she was going in sometime today so I've been praying for her throughout the day. I thought she was going under so she wouldn't be awake for it, however when I got home from the movie Kevin had been messaging and said that she was only getting freezing and that she was panicking. As my evening and her afternoon progressed Kevin sent frequent updates on her progress. The poor kid! The teeth were long, twisted and difficult to remove. I felt completely helpless. And then, of course, I begin to think about how we will be moving to the other side of the world away from our kids and what if something happens and they need us there now!  So, yeah, I was in Calgary crying while Kenz was in Auckland crying. 

So I remind myself that this is where my faith meets reality. I put my faith in a God who loves my kids even more than I do. I choose to trust that He has, is and will continue to watch over them and protect them way better than I can. I pray for them. I love them. I trust God with them. 

I also had a timely reminder tonight how God takes care of us. We had dinner tonight with Kevin's aunt and uncle who told me that they pray for our family ever single day. Wow. What a blessing. Thank you God for people who love us enough to take the time to pray for us each day. 

This verse is a good reminder and prayer for us and our kids. 

Genesis 31:49.  It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other."

Childhood favourite

Peters' Drive-In on 16th Avenue North East in Calgary. No more words necessary. 

Roads and prayers

Interesting fact: the distance from one end of New Zealand to the other is 1600km.  The distance we've driven in our three weeks in Canada is over 1800km. Kelowna to Grande Prairie to Calgary, not to mention all the highway trips between the places we stayed. 

This photo today taken on the highway between Edmonton and Calgary (actually very close to my birthplace, Didsbury) is completely representative of the incredible weather and roads we've been blessed with on this trip. 

When Paige told me all the places she wanted to go on this trip in the middle of winter in Canada I said, "Do you realise what the weather and roads can be like at that time of year?! All your plans could be thwarted by one snowstorm!"  However she was committed to the places, people and events she wanted to show Alex during their time in Canada. So...I started to pray fervently for good weather and clear roads..... and GOD HAS ANSWERED and blessed us with perfect winter weather everywhere we've gone. We had about 100km through the Rockies that were a bit freaky but we made it through!

This is why I have such concerns about Canadian winter driving: the treacherous condition of the roads and the impact of the unpredictable winter weather can have a life altering impact. My aunt, uncle and their two boys were involved in a New Year's Day accident many years ago that left my cousin brain damaged. My friend's 19 year son was killed in an accident only a few years ago that left his family and friends heartbroken.  There are many others stories I could tell about how the winter roads irrevocably changed lives in a heartbeat. Canadian winter roads are a very legitimate concern and driving on them is a skill.

Before I left on this trip I told Kevin my anxieties about the road travelling. He began praying specifically for this for me and a few days later I realised I hadn't been worrying anymore. Prayer works!!

I'm so thankful for God's blessing on this trip and specifically the good weather and clear roads!! God is good!

It's the small things that make memories

View from each of our rooms. 

Today Paige, Kevin's dad and I had the privilege of going with Alex to his first live NHL game! Edmonton Oilers vs Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers won 1-0 in overtime!  Alex won a t-shirt from the t-shirt canon! Plus we were given Oiler toques just because a sales guy liked us and that we were from NZ!  Not only all that but Paige and I found an amazing deal on hotel rooms directly across the street from the arena! With breakfast included!! 

Yup it's the small things!

Commitment

Today Paige and Alex celebrate their first anniversary. When they got married, mom and dad weren't able to attend, so it's pretty special that they can congratulate Paige and Alex in person on their first anniversary! 

My mom and dad will celebrate their 56th anniversary this year; Alex's grandparents celebrated their 60th; Kevin's parents celebrate their 52nd; Kevin and I will celebrate 26 years and Alex's parents will celebrate 29 (or 30?).  Paige and Alex are blessed to have a heritage of commitment to marriage. 

Discovering treasures

Alex and mom are enjoying going through her vast collection of hockey cards. There are so many treasures to be found! 

Speaking of treasures, we visited the new dinosaur museum in Wembley that is completely interactive including a dinosaur dig!

January 1st - Grande Prairie, Alberta

A new year awaits full of empty pages in the next chapter of our life's adventure with God. I wonder where He will take us to next. Faith is a powerful thing. Trusting God and knowing that He has it all under control. Our job is to trust Him and take the steps necessary to move forward each day. 

Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for good and not for disaster, to give you hope and a future."

More thoughts on the new year in my other blog:

http://nichol5.blogspot.ca/2016/01/2014-to-2015-to-2016.html